Barcelona down Man-U to lift title
London, May 29
Barcelona confirmed their place in the pantheon of football's greatest sides here, outclassing Manchester United 3-1 at Wembley to claim their second Champions League crown in three years.

Barcelona's players celebrate with the trophy after winning the UEFA Champions League final match at Wembley Stadium in London on Saturday. — AFP

Tharanga failed dope test during World Cup
Colombo, May 29
In what would come as a massive blow to Sri Lankan cricket, batsman Upul Tharanga reportedly tested positive for a banned substance during the recent World Cup and the ICC will hold an inquiry against the player soon.

Sebastian Vettel wins incident-packed race
Monaco, May 29
Sebastian Vettel has profited from a stroke of fortune to win Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix, beating Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button in a thrilling and incident-packed race that several drivers failed to finish.
Defending F1 champion Vettel has won five of the six races this season, with only Lewis Hamilton beating him in China.

Sebastian Vettel celebrates after winning at the Circuit de Monaco in Monte Carlo on Sunday. — AFP

Golden Player Chris Gayle overwhelmed by adulation
Chennai, May 29
Overwhelmed by the adulation of the fans during the IPL, West Indies batsman Chris Gayle today said the love and respect he has got during the Twenty20 event here eludes him back home.
"Its amazing I can score no runs and still be love & appreciated round the World!! Never get these sort of luv an respect in West Indies!!!," the Royal Challengers Bangalore batsman wrote on his twitter page
RCB’s Chris Gayle with his Golden Player of IPL-4 trophy. — PTI

Sania-Vesnina enter quarters, Bhupathi loses
Paris, May 29
India's Sania Mirza and her Russian partner Elena Vesnina defeated the Spanish pair of Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez and Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-1 6-4 to qualify for the women's doubles quarterfinals of the French Open on Sunday.The Indo-Russian duo will now face top seeds Gisela Dulko of Brazil and Italian Flavia
Pennetta, who defeated the Italian pair of Sarra Errani and Roberta Vinci 6-4, 6-2 in their third round match.

Badminton chiefs shelve skirts rule
Qingdao, May 29
Badminton chiefs on Sunday said they had indefinitely shelved a controversial new ruling forcing women to wear skirts or dresses after uproar from countries including China and India.

Arjun Atwal shines
Irving, May 29
Arjun Atwal stayed steady in trying conditions to return the day's best card of three-under 67 and move into contention for his second PGA title at the USD 6.5 million HP Byron Nelson Golf Championships here. Atwal was three-under 207 for three rounds and tied third, up from overnight 29th place.

Arjun Atwal hits a bunker shot during the third round of the HP Byron Nelson Championship in Texas on Saturday. — AFP

‘India needs club system like Europe’
Lucknow, May 29
Former Commonwealth Games gold-medallist boxer Akhil Kumar has suggested that a club system like Europe needs to be set up in India to promote the sport and improve the standard of pugilists.
"To prepare good international level boxers the basic level of the game has to be raised in the country and glamour and money should be associated with it," Akhil told PTI over phone.

Cook, Pietersen exit as draw looms
Cardiff, May 29
Sri Lanka finally saw the back of Alastair Cook in the first Test at Sophia Gardens here on Sunday but only after he had shared another huge stand with fellow century-maker Jonathan Trott.

London, May 29
Barcelona confirmed their place in the pantheon of football's greatest sides here, outclassing Manchester United 3-1 at Wembley to claim their second Champions League crown in three years.

Goals from Pedro, Lionel Messi and David Villa secured a deserved victory for the Catalan magicians after England international Wayne Rooney had raised United's hopes with a well-taken first-half equaliser.

The star of an electrifying team performance was Argentinian striker Messi, the 23-year-old maestro whose brilliant effort on 54 minutes saw him equal Ruud van Nistelrooy's record of 12 goals in a single Champions League campaign.

It also took Messi's tally for the season to an astonishing 56 goals in 62 games for club and country, and propelled Barcelona towards their fourth victory in club football's most prestigious competition. In a poignant finale, the honour of hoisting aloft the famous silver trophy was given to Barcelona's French defender Eric Abidal, playing just two months after undergoing surgery to remove a liver tumour.

"On the day they were a better team," disappointed United defender Rio Ferdinand said afterward as Barcelona celebrated. "I think they are a great side. They've got a way of playing they all know. Tonight maybe a couple of times we got caught. Give credit where credit's due - they were the better team."

Sir Alex Ferguson's United had been determined to avoid a repeat of the 2009 final in Rome, where Pep Guardiola's men had struck early before going on to clinch a 2-0 win at the Stadio Olimpico.

Yet despite a bright opening United were ultimately handed a defeat that was just as emphatic as their loss two years ago, with the Spanish champions revelling in the wide open spaces of Wembley. United, lining up in an aggressive 4-4-2 formation, had harried Barcelona relentlessly in the early exchanges as they sought to prevent the Catalans from settling into their flowing passing rhythm.

But it was not long before Barcelona found their feet and United were to spend much of the opening half an hour, and the match, firmly on the back foot. Villa shot wide after being picked out by Messi on the edge of the area and moments later Pedro went close after Xavi and Gerard Pique combined menacingly.

A jinking run by Messi set alarm bells jangling in the Manchester United defence before the striker threaded a lovely pass to Pedro only for United skipper Nemanja Vidic to slide in with an important block. United had Vidic to thank for another superb piece of defending shortly afterwards, the Serbian judging his tackle brilliantly to deny Messi.

But on 27 minutes, Barcelona's relentless pressure finally reaped its reward. An exquisite pass from Xavi struck with the outside of the boot picked out Pedro and the winger coolly clipped his shot beyond van der Sar. At that point Ferguson must have been fearing a repeat of Rome. But crucially, United were able to find an equaliser within seven minutes. — AFP

Kolkata, May 29
Cricket legend Kapil Dev said on Sunday that it was entirely up to the cricketers to decide whether they want to play for their country or their club.

Dev was replying to a query on if the current cricketers preferred club over country. "Things change as time goes by. I feel everybody has the right to choose what ever they like. I loved to play for my country. Things have changed, life has changed. You cannot control anybody's life. Whatever anybody wants to do he should be allowed to do," said India's first World Cup winning captain on the sidelines of a mobile phone launch in Kolkata.

Top Indian stars like Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag will be missing the West Indies tour due to injury or fatigue which had stoked a belief that the cricketers have started to prefer playing in the cash rich IPL over playing for the national team.

"I really don't know. For some it's too less cricket while for some it's too much cricket. It is up to the organisers to decide what amount of cricket is decent. In my time we used to play for six -seven months but now they play almost all the year round." Kapil said on if there was too much cricket being played these days.

When asked to compare his 1983 World Cup winning team with that of the current world champs lead by M.S. Dhoni, Dev said: "I feel proud. Like a big brother or parents I am very proud of the current team. This team is far better than ours was. It has world class players in every department."

Asked to react to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) inviting him to a function to felicitate the 2011 World Cup winners, a visibly miffed Kapil who has had an on and off relationship with the BCCI replied: "People like (Ravi) Shastri, (Sunil) Gavaskar they are doing their jobs so am I.

"Since they are visible on TV and I am not doesn't mean anything. I don't have to say anything on that. It's good that they have invited me. They have called many players and I am also among them. Happy that they have called me and even if they hadn't I would be happy because the boys have won the World Cup."

"I don't need any respect from the Board. God has given me lot. On I being not invited earlier is no big deal. They haven't invited (Venkat) Raghavan, (Bishan) Bedi etc," added Dev. — IANS

Colombo, May 29
In what would come as a massive blow to Sri Lankan cricket, batsman Upul Tharanga reportedly tested positive for a banned substance during the recent World Cup and the ICC will hold an inquiry against the player soon.

The left-handed opener tested positive for a banned substance called Prednisolone prescribed to him by an alternate medical practitioner, the 'Sunday Times' reported. "The International Cricket Council (ICC) is due to hold an inquiry shortly into Tharanga being tested positive for using a banned substance during the recent World Cup tournament," the newspaper reported.

Tharanga scored an unbeaten century in the semi-final against England in Colombo before the Sri Lankan team finished runner-up in the event after losing the final to India in Mumbai.

"Lawyers have already been retained to defend Tharanga at the ICC inquiry," the newspaper said. Tharanga has said that a well known medical practitioner, who had treated Indian stars Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir and Ashish Nehra, prescribed the medicine containing the banned substance to him.

Prednisolone is used for a wide range of inflammatory and auto-immune conditions such as asthma and the 26-year-old has a history of asthma. He has not been training for the past few days due to a knee problem and was not included in the Sri Lankan squad which is touring England right now.

Sri Lanka Cricket secretary Nishantha Ranatunga has denied knowledge of Tharanga's failed dope test. "Officially we know nothing about Tharanga's case. SLC has not received any complaints or reports about the use of the banned substance called Prednisolone from any organisation or agency," he said. ICC spokesman James Fitzgerald too refused to clarify the matter. — PTI

Monaco, May 29
Sebastian Vettel has profited from a stroke of fortune to win Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix, beating Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button in a thrilling and incident-packed race that several drivers failed to finish.

Defending F1 champion Vettel has won five of the six races this season, with only Lewis Hamilton beating him in China.

The German gambled by staying out on the same set of soft tires, turning the last 15 laps into a battle of wits as both Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button were on his tail.

That gamble looked certain to backfire until a crash on lap 72 resulted in a red flag that suspended the session just as he was close to being caught.

When the race resumed Vettel had changed his tyres during the suspension, without the need for a pitstop, and the last few laps became a procession. — Agencies

Chennai, May 29
Overwhelmed by the adulation of the fans during the IPL, West Indies batsman Chris Gayle today said the love and respect he has got during the Twenty20 event here eludes him back home.

"Its amazing I can score no runs and still be love & appreciated round the World!! Never get these sort of luv an respect in West Indies!!!," the Royal Challengers Bangalore batsman wrote on his twitter page referring to the duck he got in the IPL final loss to Chennai Super Kings last night.

The opener, who almost single-handedly steered his team to the IPL 4 final, could not work his magic in the finals but managed to bag the Orange Cap for maximum number of runs in this season of the tournament — 608 from 12 matches.

Gayle admitted that while Bravo tasted victory, he is also celebrating RCB's successful campaign in the fourth edition of the cash-rich event. "The party must go on...it was 3 WI players in finals, but at least 1 WI player taste IPL championship! Bravo..big up!! All 3 celebrating!!!," tweeted Gayle after the final match. — PTI

Paris, May 29
India's Sania Mirza and her Russian partner Elena Vesnina defeated the Spanish pair of Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez and Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-1 6-4 to qualify for the women's doubles quarterfinals of the French Open on Sunday.

The Indo-Russian duo will now face top seeds Gisela Dulko of Brazil and Italian Flavia Pennetta, who defeated the Italian pair of Sarra Errani and Roberta Vinci 6-4, 6-2 in their third round match.

Bhupathi exits

Bhupathi in action in the mixed doubles in Paris on Sunday. — AFP

Indian veteran Mahesh Bhupathi's campaign ended at the French Open today with a second round defeat in the mixed doubles event along with Chinese partner Jie Zheng. The fifth seed Indo-Chinese pair lost 6-4, 3-6, 7-10 to unseeded duo of Rennae Stubbs of Australia and Brazil's Marcelo Melo.

Bhupathi has already exited from the men's doubles along with compatriot Leander Paes. India's hopes in the mixed doubles are still alive as Paes and his partner Iveta Benesova have reached the quarterfinals, where they are set to clash with top seeded pair of Katarina Srebotnik of Slovakia and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia.

Later today, Sania Mirza and her partner Elena Vesnina will take on Spanish duo of Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez and Anabel Medina Garrigues in the pre-quarterfinals. PTI

Qingdao, May 29
Badminton chiefs on Sunday said they had indefinitely shelved a controversial new ruling forcing women to wear skirts or dresses after uproar from countries including China and India.

The new regulation, which sparked the worst internal wrangling in years and saw badminton gain unprecedented media coverage, had already been delayed once but had been due to come into effect on June 1.

The sport's governing body, the Badminton World Federation (BWF), met on Saturday on the sidelines of the Sudirman Cup world mixed team championships in the Chinese coastal city of Qingdao to find a solution to the emotive issue.

Some players had accused the game's administrators of sexism, but badminton bosses countered that they were merely trying to boost the profile of the women's game and help attract more sponsorship.

"The BWF has accepted a recommendation from the Women In Badminton Committee to further study on the general clothing regulations and thereby not to introduce the regulations as currently drafted regarding the mandatory use of skirts or dresses," the BWF said in a statement.

Former world champion Nora Perry, who had been one of the brains behind the new ruling and is head of the Women In Badminton Committee, said: "It is our recommendation to (BWF) council to do further study before implementing new clothing regulations.

"It is still our intention to focus on a better presentation of the game, but we will like to broaden the scope to include both men and women." A new proposal "with a broader scope", would be made in December, the press release said.

China, Indonesia and India were among a host of countries which had raised fierce objections, while in Malaysia, the opposition Pan-Malaysia Islamic Party (PAS) called for a boycott of tournaments.

Irving, May 29
Arjun Atwal stayed steady in trying conditions to return the day's best card of three-under 67 and move into contention for his second PGA title at the USD 6.5 million HP Byron Nelson Golf Championships here. Atwal was three-under 207 for three rounds and tied third, up from overnight 29th place.

He shared the position with Japan's Ryuji Imada (71). Atwal, who won his maiden PGA Tour title last year at the Wyndham Championships, opened the third round with a bogey on the second hole. He then hit a purple patch with four birdies in a five-hole run before a bogey on the ninth saw him turn in two-under.

Later, birdies on tenth and 12th were followed by a bogey on the 15th, but he finished three-under 67 and was only two shots behind leader Ryan Palmer (73) and only one behind Sergio Garcia (74).

The last three holes played into the wind, which was about 25 miles per hour with gusts near 40. Only eight of 74 players shot under-par yesterday, and there were no bogey-free rounds. Atwal, who had shot a stunning 64 in the third round of the same event last year en route to finishing tied seventh, said,

"This 67 is a lot better than whatever I shot last year. It was truly a really tough day today. There's not too many birdies out there. I mean, par's really good on almost every hole, and I'm just lucky to shoot 67." — PTI

Lucknow, May 29
Former Commonwealth Games gold-medallist boxer Akhil Kumar has suggested that a club system like Europe needs to be set up in India to promote the sport and improve the standard of pugilists.

"To prepare good international level boxers the basic level of the game has to be raised in the country and glamour and money should be associated with it," Akhil told PTI over phone.

Akhil, who was conferred with the Arjuna award in 2005, said invitational boxing competitions at the national level should be started in the country. "If boxing clubs are developed in the country on the lines of European countries, the situation can change rapidly," he added.

The pugilist cites lack of information regarding rules and regulations of the game as the biggest roadblock in its promotion. "Though people love to watch boxing, more than 95 per cent are unaware of its rules and regulation. This problem can only be removed when more and more boxing competitions are organised," he said.

The, bantamweight 56kg boxer who won a bronze at this month's Arafura Games in Australia, labelled the system of international ranking as impractical, saying it only benefits boxers, who participate in maximum tournaments.

"In this system boxers, who have talent but are unable to participate in more tournaments, are left behind. The number one boxer is the one who emerges champion either in the Olympics or international competition," Akhil said. — PTI

Cardiff, May 29
Sri Lanka finally saw the back of Alastair Cook in the first Test at Sophia Gardens here on Sunday but only after he had shared another huge stand with fellow century-maker Jonathan Trott.

Meanwhile Kevin Pietersen's well documented problems against left-arm spin continued when he was lbw to Rangana Herath for just three.

England were 344 for four reply to Sri Lanka's first innings 400, a deficit of 56 runs, at tea on the fourth day.

Trott had extended his overnight century to 147 not out while Warwickshire colleague Ian Bell was unbeaten on 28 after rain, which has repeatedly interrupted this match, washed out the morning session to leave the first of a three-Test series heading for a draw.

England resumed on 287 for two, with Cook 129 not out and Trott 125 not out — his sixth century in just 19 Tests. Cook had added just four runs when he top-edged a cut off seamer Farveez Maharoof and was caught head-high by wicket-keeper Prasanna Jayawardene. — AFP